Utah State tops Northern Illinois at the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

National TV audience views the only college football bowl game in the U.S. that is sponsored by a credit union

1/09/2014 12:00 a.m.

SDCCU, San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution, applauded another successful San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl—the only college football bowl game among the 35 college football games to have a credit union as a title sponsor. SDCCU has served as the title sponsor of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl since the bowl game’s inception in 2005.

At the ninth annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, played Dec. 26 at Qualcomm® Stadium in San Diego, the Utah State Aggies defeated the Northern Illinois University Huskies, 21-14. The game aired live before a nationwide audience on ESPN-TV and ESPN-Radio.

“The game was a hard-fought battle between two conference division champions from the Mountain West and the Mid-American Conference, and we salute the outstanding efforts by the players and coaching staffs of the two teams,” said Teresa Halleck, SDCCU president & CEO. “We were proud to support this bowl game not only because it benefits the local economy but also the entire credit union industry through increased awareness. Credit union customers across the country are reminded that credit unions contribute to our lives and communities in tangible ways.”

According to the San Diego Bowl Game Association, the non-profit entity that produces the game, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl generates millions of dollars into the San Diego economy during a week when the region’s tourism industry is at one of its slowest times of the year. The mission of the Association is to generate tourism, exposure, economic benefit and civic pride for San Diego and its citizens by producing the nation’s most exciting bowl games and festival of activities. Officials report that the previous eight San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl games added a combined $75.7 million of revenue into the local economy. View our infographic to see how this revenue flows into the San Diego economy.

In this year’s game, Aggies running back Joey DeMartino, who attended Mt. Carmel High and Grossmont College in San Diego, rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown and was named the offensive most valuable player. Utah State linebacker Jake Doughty was selected as defensive MVP for making eight tackles, including 1.5 for losses and forcing a fumble.

The Huskies’ Jordan Lynch, who finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy and made the Associated Press All-American team as an all-purpose player, had a rough end to his college career with an interception and fumble. Lynch also ran for a touchdown and passed for another, but was sacked twice and held to 39 yards rushing, compared to his previous average of 160 yards per game over nine games during the regular season.

Utah State, winner of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West, finished its season 9-5 and played in a third straight bowl game, a school record. Northern Illinois University (12-2) played in a MAC record sixth-straight bowl game and posted a school-record 12 consecutive victories before ending the season with two straight losses.

One dollar of every admission ticket sold to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl was donated to the San Diego chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, allowing the charity to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The grand total presented at this year’s bowl event was $22,500.

SDCCU’s title sponsorship of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is one of many ways that SDCCU gives back to the community. As a not-for-profit organization rooted in helping others, SDCCU is a long-time supporter of many local non-profit organizations, including Rady Children’s Hospital, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, San Diego Blood Bank and Scripps Health Foundation, to name a few. At the local level, branches are actively involved in Chambers of Commerce and support charitable organizations and events through sponsorships and active volunteerism.

For more information about the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, visit PoinsettiaBowl.com.

San Diego County Credit Union® was founded on the principle that people come first and profits second. This forward-thinking approach in the banking industry has propelled SDCCU® to become San Diego’s BEST Credit Union and largest locally-owned financial institution. SDCCU provides breakthrough banking products that meet the demands of today’s lifestyle and delivers banking services that save customers money. SDCCU serves customers nationwide with 30,000 surcharge-FREE CO-OP ATMs and 37 branch locations in San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties. Open an account today.